November 2010
November 2010 overall was a very cold month, largely due to frosts during much of the period before the extremely cold spell at the end that brought record breaking cold temperatures. It was the equal 97th coldest November on record for the CET with a mean of 5.2c (359 Novembers have been recorded with the CET up to 2017). The UK mean temperature was 4.3c which made it the eleventh coldest November on record for the UK and the coldest since 1993 (records go back to 1910). The IMT was 5.0c which made it the second coldest November on record with the available IMTs as up to this point when writing this article, only beaten by 1985 with an IMT of 4.5c. 'Twas the coldest November on record at NUIG (records go back to 1965) with a mean of 5.0c also. New November minimum temperature records were set including Wales' and Northern Ireland's records. Llysdinam, Wales had a minimum of -18.0c on November 28th and Mucker Broughderg, Northern Ireland had a minimum of -11.9c on the same day. The Wales temperature was the coldest November temperature in the UK since 1985. Not to mention, the Republic of Ireland's November minimum temperature record was broken with -11.5c at Clonroche, Co. Wexford on November 29th with a grass minimum of -17.1c at the same station on the same day which was also a November record for Ireland. RAF Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire had a temperature range of 28.8c during November between its highest maximum and lowest minimum. Many inland stations of Ireland recorded a total of between ten and 14 air frosts, twice the normal number for November. It was a wet month for most but even in the wettest parts, not nearly as wet as the preceding November in 2009 which had broken records. Rainfall was well below average for the northwest of Scotland as well as the Northern Isles and parts of Cork in Ireland. Cork Airport had only 79% of its average November rainfall. Merrion Square, Dublin had 193% of its average November rainfall in contrast. An Atlantic regime dominated the pattern for much of the month but the jet stream was meandered in a way that the atmosphere could produce frosts at times along with with the lower speed of the Gulf Stream. Sunshine was well above average for many, especially in the north and west of the British Isles. Northern Ireland had its second sunniest November on record (records go back to 1929) whilst Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal had its sunniest on record with 166% of its average November sunshine. It was also Belmullet's sunniest November on record. Sherkin Island, Co. Cork had 98 hours of sunshine during the month. To put this into perspective, the November monthly sunshine record for Ireland is 116 hours at Cork Airport in November 2016 so whilst not a record breaker, it was still a very enjoyable sunny November. To no surprise with a meandered jet stream, east Anglia and the southeast of England in general had a rather dull November. Day by Day Summary Much of November 2010 was dominated by an Atlantic regime with a slower than normal Gulf Stream and a meandered jet stream. The first few days were very mild in a mild southwesterly flow dragging in a lot of cloud and some bands of rain from the Atlantic getting heavy at times in the middle swave of the British Isles whilst those way to the north and south escaped much of the rain. Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, south of the warm front, recorded a maximum of 19.0c on November 3rd which was the highest November temperature on record for the station. St James' Park in London had a maximum of 19.0c also but on November 4th which was the highest November temperature for the UK since 1946 at the time - and we all know what November 1946 was followed by; Ireland's arctic siege aka the big freeze of 1947. West Freugh, Scotland had a maximum of 15.0c on the 4th. RAF Linton-on-Ouse, England had a maximum of 17.6c on the same day. Nightime temperatures in the south of England barely got below 15c. It's remarkable seeing these unseasonably mild temperatures before record breaking cold came especially with the slowed down Gulf Stream. Seathwaite, Cumbria had a daily rainfall of 101.0mm from 9am on the 3rd to 9am on the 4th. Gwynedd, Wales had a daily rainfall of 70mm up to 9am on the 3rd. Claremorris, Co. Mayo had 21.6mm of rainfall on the 4th. Some stations had a good 40-60mm for the first few days of November. The persistent outbreaks of rain became more showery on the 6th as winds became more westerly than southwesterly and temperatures dropping somewhat into single figures more widely than the very north of Scotland being alone. Some sunny spells in between these showers leaving the country in a frost overnight into the 7th which was the first of many to come during November. The 7th generally was a sunny and rather cool day with temperatures widely between 5-9c, some parts got into double figures but not much, with well isolated showers. You know the phrase though, calm before the storm 'cause an unusual deep area of low pressure of approximately 960mb pushed readily down from the northwest during the evening of the 7th reaching England by the morning of the 8th. The centre of the low made landfall over southern parts of Ireland bringing very gusty winds and some heavy rainfalls on its sides. Valentia Observatory, Co. Kerry had daily rainfalls of 29.3mm and 24.3mm on the 7th and 8th respectively. Braemar, Scotland recorded 40.4mm on the 8th. The low brought some snowfalls of 5-7cm across the Grampians in Scotland. Behind the band of rain was sunshine and showers but generally another rather cool day with similar temperatures to those seen on the 7th but escaping the frost as temperatures hold up in the cloud and rain. The low sinks southwards into France on the 9th leaving us in a very blustery pattern with gusty easterly winds. Feeling very raw in plenty of showers in the south of the UK and east of Ireland but the north and west escaping the showers and having some lovely sunshine. Some severe frost in the clear skies developing overnight into the 10th. Most of the rain from the low had cleared by the 10th with a brief ridge of high pressure ridging in giving away to plenty of sunshine and temperatures still struggling in the low single figures of 5-9c. Some early frost overnight into the 11th before a band of rain pushes in from the Atlantic to give a stormy day. Mean windspeeds of around 50 knots (93 km/h) were measured along western and northern coasts of Ireland, while wave heights reached over 10 metres. Sunny spells and showers behind the band of heavy rain with some of these becoming downpours and even some thunderstorms. Milder than previous days with temperatures getting up to double figures quite widespread. Further showers continued in parts for the 12th in gusty northwesterly winds eventually easing through the day. Between the showers, there was some nice sunny spells. A band of rain pushed into the south of Britain during the afternoon but attempting to clear during the evening and just clipping the south coasts on a little ripple. Many places had began fine on the 13th but the north of Scotland had plenty of showers and the low that tried to clear the south of Britain still hung to the southeast bringing a good 10mm of rainfall here during the day. Through the afternoon, a little trough pushed up from the Bay of Biscay into the south and east of Ireland bringing some heavy showers in the west of the UK before it dissipated on the 14th. Fairly mild for the time of year with temperatures of 8-12c. The low had finally cleared the southeast by the evening of the 14th with scattered showers otherwise and plenty of sunshine. Temperatures went back down into single figures again then dropped overnight below freezing leaving places in severe frost in the clear skies. The 15th was a similar day with scattered showers and sunny spells but quite a cold day for the middle of November with maximums of only 3-7c. This was perhaps a teaser from Mother Nature telling us that something was lurking in the shadows of Europe. Low cloud and fog developed widely on the 16th in the UK as the winds turned southerly ahead of a front pushing into the west of Ireland. This suppressed the temperatures for many with parts of England not getting much above 4c during the day. Some nice sunny spells out to the west though and to the east of Ireland. Heavy rain then pushed eastwards and brought flooding to places especially those in the southwest of England. 50.2mm was recorded at Cardinham on the 17th. Whilst totals like this don't seem that impressive for that part of the country, it was recorded within 2 hours than a 24 hour period. Cardinham recorded an hourly total of 18.8 mm, while Heligan recorded consecutive hourly totals of 24.0 mm and 21.0 mm - to give 45.0 mm in 2 hours. An analysis of these rainfall data indicates a return period exceeding 50 years for the 2-hour duration total. The heavy rain was accompanied by strong winds, with gusts of 54 knots (62 mph) at St Mary's (Isles of Scilly) and 50 knots (58 mph) at Berry Head. Valentia Observatory had 25.5mm on the 16th. Another band of rain pushed into the west overnight into the 18th. This one had rain that was much lighter over the southwest of England but anymore rain was likely to cause major problems even if less than 5mm. Helens Bay and Ballypatrick Forest of Northern Ireland had rainfalls of 21.8mm and 27.0mm respectively on the 17th/18th. Plenty of cloud about with showers but mild getting into double figures. The showers continued into the 19th in the north and west. Lot of cloud along the east of the UK but sunny spells out in the west once not in the showers. Temperatures close to freezing in the clear skies overnight. An area of rain pushed into the southwest of England overnight into the 20th bringing another 20mm here to parts. This rain had cleared into the south of Ireland and eventually dissipated entirely. Scattered sunny spells around the UK on a chilly northeasterly breeze but mostly cloudy bringing temperatures back down to single figures. The northeasterly strengthened into the 21st and continued bringing temperatures down further to 6-8c widely in cloudy and drizzly conditions. However, the west of Ireland was in the shadow of the northeasterly and in fact, had some lovely sunshine. Showers pepped up on the 22nd with a little stationary front pushing westwards. Dublin Airport had 16.5mm in these showers. Many of the rain showers started to disappear on the 23rd, the exception being those regions around the North Sea. Winds turned more to a northerly. As a result, out to the west, sunshine became a more dominant feature and clear skies during nightime led to severe frosts. Frost became frequent every night onwards from this point. Daytime temperatures between 5-7c and the northerly winds strengthening into the 24th causing the air to cool significantly. In fact, wintry showers started to appear to the northeast of the UK with accumulations of up to 5cm midday and increasing all the time. Temperatures between 3-6c mostly. Sunny spells elsewhere with rain showers in those milder southwestern regions of the UK. An area of low pressure developed during the day overnight into the 25th causing the snow to pep up to the northeast bringing accumulations of more than 10cm including Redesdale having 12cm on this day (some of it becoming drifting snow across northeastern Scotland) and daytime temperatures between 2-5c. Plenty of sunshine out of the showers. The snow started pushing westwards and southwards on the 26th. A minimum of -9.1c in the morning at Redesdale. Again, lots and lots of sunshine otherwise. Bitterly cold northeasterly airstream into the 27th with snow showers becoming fairly widespread across Ireland and the UK, continuing on into the 28th. Snow depths up to 30cm at Aviemore, Scotland. Minimum of -10.2c at Trawscoed, Wales on the morning of the 27th. The air became very unstable producing thundersnow to the east of Ireland and in northern parts of the UK including at Dundee, Perth, Aberdeen and Inverness. Snow and freezing temperatures turned many roads in the Dublin area into skating rinks disrupting businesses and schools, made road travel a lottery and caused the cancellation of commuter services. The main runway at Dublin Airport remained closed for most of the 27th. Altnaharra got down to -16.1c on the morning of the 29th. Easterly winds continued to intensify during the day with more widespread snow and sunny spells. Snow accumulations bringing another 10-20cm in northeastern parts of the UK and eastern parts of Ireland. These continued on into the 30th producing even heavier accumulations in parts of up to 30cm on a gusty easterly wind. Irish Sea streamers were full of energy! Daytime temperatures just around freezing for many and for some staying below freezing. Forecasting The UK Met Office had hinted at the potential for a cold spell to take place at the end of November 2010, in their 30 day forecast at the beginning of the month. Gallery ' 5209266897_7521287344_b_%281%29.jpg|Galway in snow on the night of November 26 DSC_6953_%281%29.JPG|Bray Seafront with snow falling overnight into November 27 Lamppost_%281%29.jpg|Snow falling by a lamp post in Dublin overnight into November 27 S7000983_%281%29.JPG|Deep snow cover in Monaghan town on November 27 Dublin_eye_%281%29.jpg|Snow falling in Dublin overnight into November 27 27thnov2010_008_%281%29.jpg|Snow falling in Trim overnight into November 27 OLMp9_%281%29.jpg|South Kilkenny on November 27 5212004051_e06897aba5_b_%281%29.jpg|Roundwood on November 27 5210998903_463c24b798_z_%281%29.jpg|Carrick Mountain on November 27 S7000985_%281%29.JPG|Snow falling in Monaghan on the night of November 27 5212599294_16c7592e9e_b_%281%29.jpg|Roundwood on November 27 SS4XT_%281%29.jpg|South Kilkenny on November 27 PB270015_%281%29.JPG|Lugnaquilla in the distance on November 27 5212587020_81a0772d3d_b_%281%29.jpg|Roundwood on November 27 Maynooth01_%281%29.jpg|Maynooth on the night of November 27 DSCF5589_-_Copy_%281%29.JPG|Wexford on November 27 Web_snow_5_%281%29.jpg|Bray on November 27 IMAG0177_%281%29.JPG|Howth on the morning of November 28 IMG_3090-1_%281%29.JPG|Letterkenny on November 28 Palm_tree_%281%29.jpg|A palm tree in Dún Laoghaire on the night of November 27 DSC_6987_%281%29.JPG|Bray on November 28 5214770132_4453afee40_%281%29.jpg|Rathfarnham Village on November 28 5214561567_bfdaa7c375_z_%281%29.jpg|Phoenix Park on November 28 QtfUy_%281%29.jpg|South Kilkenny on November 28 ' References # UK Met Offices' case study of their forecasting on the November/December 2010 cold spell # Boards.ie November/December cold spell user weather photos #